© Copyright 2020 - The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. TEL (215) 546-3181 FAX (215) 546-5167
For inquiries, please contact our IT Department
- Title
- [Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards for Chas. McKeone & Son Manufacturing Co. at 2518-2550 Callowhill Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a dog biting and pulling the pants of a white boy carrying a basket of fruit while another white boy climbs a stone wall to escape; a white child sitting on a pile of blankets with their pet dog beside an open doorway; a white boy hanging with his shirt caught on a tree branch while another white boy looks on with a basket on fruit at his feet; a white woman cradling a baby on her lap. Racist card depicting white women, an African American woman, and Chinese men working in a laundry room. In the center, a white woman and an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in an orange head kerchief, a red dress, and a white checked apron, stand beside a wash basin and hold up a white cloth. A well-dress white woman comes over to inspect the cloth. In the left, a Chinese man, wearing a queue and mustache and attired in a black cap, a blue shirt, tan pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, holds up and inspects a box of "McKeone's Extract of Soap." Behind him in the background, another Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a yellow shirt, washes a white cloth in a steaming wash basin. In the right, a white woman carries a basket of clothes and another white woman washes laundry in a wash basin and looks on at the scene. Also visible are wooden crates, a basket of laundry, and a drying rack filled with clothes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.620] printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Advertising text promoting McKeone's "Crown Jewel Soap" and "Kalistine concentrated extract of soap" printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., Added to African Americana Digital Collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - McKeone [1975.F.181; 1975.F.183; 1975.F.185; 1975.F.620; 1975.F.622]
- Title
- "Creme" oat meal toilet soap
- Description
- Trade card promoting soap manufacturer J.D. Larkin & Co. and depicting a racist caricature of an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man hunter. He stands in front of a section of tall grass and holds a clutch of birds in his left hand and a rifle under his right arm. He is attired in a hunting cap, red jacket, tan pants, and black high boots. Leather straps are criss-crossed over his chest. J.D. Larkin & Co. was founded in 1875. By 1881 the soap company included over 100 factory workers and sustained specialized departments for advertising and shipping, as well as solicited to door-to-door private residences in addition to shopkeepers. Trade cards with the company logo were included with each box of soap. By 1885 the firm only directly sold their products to residential customers and was known for their premiums. The company was sold in 1941 and continued as a mail-order business until 1962., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright, Clay & Richmond, Buffalo, N.Y., 1881., Printed in upper right corner on recto: J, D, L, & C. monogram (ie. J.D. Larkin & Co.) surmounting "Buffalo, N.Y.", Series no. printed on recto: II., Advertising text printed on verso promotes "Creme" toilet soap sold by A.E. Snow, dealer in drugs, medicines, etc. in Plainfield, Vt. Also promotes "six different designs" of cards by the People's Mfg. Co., Buffalo, N.Y., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- 1881
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - S [P.9828.6852]
- Title
- [Morgan & Headly trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards promoting jewelers Morgan & Headly in the Mutual Life Building at the northwest corner of Tenth and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. Trade card depicts a large diamond jewel [1975.F.579]. Illustrated trade card depicts a caricaturized Japanese woman and boy playing a horn. The woman, wearing her hair tied up and decorated with kanzashi (decorative hair ornaments) and attired in a floral patterned kimono, stands before a Japanese-style building. She leans her left arm over a wall and looks down at a boy, wearing a shaved head with a small ponytail and attired in a tunic, a belt, pants, and cloth, slip-on shoes, playing a horn next to a bird with its beak open [1975.F.592]. Trade card depicting a Japanese-stylized scene of a crane bending over and cleaning its feathers with its beak. Also includes flowering tree branches [1975.F.593]., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content and history of the advertised business., One print [1975.F.579] contains vignette printed on verso depicting a hand-held fan superimposed onto a ribbon., RVCDC, Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Morgan [1975.F.579; 1975.F.592 & 593]
- Title
- High art and elegant clothing. Merchant tailor misfits, 400 South Eighth St., first door bel. Pine. Private house. Please ring the bell
- Description
- Series of racist trade cards promoting a Philadelphia clothing store and depicting African American women. An African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a striped head kerchief, a checked shawl, and a dress with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, cradles her head in her hands as she leans on the windowsill of an open window and looks at the viewer. Other card depicts an African American woman nanny, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a head kerchief, a striped dress with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, and a checked apron, who smiles and stands behind a picket fence holding a white infant at her side., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Merchant [1975.F.583 & 584]
- Title
- If dat ar fish knowd dis wor Merrick's thread, he wouldnt ha bit Merrick Thread Co. Best six cord 8
- Description
- Racist trade card for the Merrick Thread Company at 248 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia and depicting Black men, attired only in loincloths, pulling a captured whale onto a beach. The five men, portrayed in racist caricature, stand on the beach and hold onto the thread coming from an oversized spool labeled, "Merrick Thread Co. Best Six Cord 8," in the right. The whale with an open mouth of sharp teeth is pulled from the ocean onto the beach. In the background, two men run, and palm trees are visible in the right. Merrick Thread Co. was founded in 1865 by Timothy Merrick, Austin Merrick, and Origen Hall in Mansfield, Connecticut. After its founding, the company established mills in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1898, the company merged with thirteen other independent thread and yarn manufacturers to form the American Thread Company., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso promotes Merrick Thread Co.'s best six cord soft finish spool cotton for machine & hand sewing and offers patrons "two lithoed water-color engravings" and "Sunshine for Little Children" on receipt of twenty-five cents., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Merrick [P.2002.30]
- Title
- F. Pulaski & Co., 1026 Chestnut St Opening days, November 1st and 2d, 1881
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards promoting F. Pulaski & Co., a fancy goods store at 1026 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a white woman pulling on her red stockings as her pet cat rubs his head against her foot and the same woman attired in a brown coat, a pink hat, blue stockings and white shoes, leaving her home with her cat trailing her. Also includes two related scenes showing a white woman standing with her head lowered before her surprised white husband with black soot on her face and clothing. In the subsequent scene, the husband is fighting with a Black man. In the right, the white man's brown cap flies off his head and white flour is dispersed through the air. In the left, the Black man's brown, brimmed hat falls to the ground as he grabs his hands around the white man's head with his right leg lifted up. F. Pulaski & Co., initially a partnership between Frank Pulaski and M.L. Kline when these trade cards were created, later specialized in pictures and picture frames., Title from item., Text in French printed on recto [1975.F.714]: "En voyant sa femme changée de couleur, Pétrin qui a mauvais caractère, devine tout de suite que Charabia lui a fait une niche. Il a son plan.", Text in French printed on recto [1975.F.718]: "Comme ils se sont promis de faire suer: Charabia, de la farine à chon ami Pétrin, et Pétrin du charbon a Charabia, ils se tiennent parole.", Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- 1881
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Pulaski [1975.F.714; 1975.F.718; 1975.F.764 & 1975.F.871]
- Title
- [Frederick A. Rex & Co. trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards promoting coffee manufacturer Frederick A. Rex & Co. and depicting a fox leaping to grab grapes in its mouth from a vine running along the top of a tall stone wall. Racist trade card titled "An absorbing subject" and depicting a caricature an African American man lying on top of a barrel and drinking from it with a straw. Shows the barefooted man, portrayed with exaggerated features, and attired in a straw hat, a striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and patched and torn pants. He lies straddling on top of a wooden barrel and rests his head in his hands. He closes his eyes as he drinks from a straw through a hole in the barrel. The barrel has a label pasted on it and is marked “XXX.” In the foreground, a painter’s palette leans against the front of the barrel. Frederick A. Rex (1850-1916) founded the Frederick A. Rex Company in the 1880s which manufactured coffee and tea. The firm had an office in Philadelphia and a mill in Camden, N.J., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9651.20] copyrighted 1881 by Geo. M. Hayes., One print [P.9651.20] contains advertising text printed on verso promoting "Peerless Coffee," the finest coffee sold, roasted and packed by Fred'k A. Rex & Co., 39 North Front St., Philadelphia, with mills in Camden, New Jersey., Purchase 1999, 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1881]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Rex [P.9651.20 & P.9984.2]
- Title
- Joseph L. Varnam, ladies' and gents' & children's boot & shoe maker, Bustleton, 23rd ward, Philad'a Fine custom work made to order. Repairing promptly attended to
- Description
- Racist trade card depicting an African American man, portrayed in caricature with an oversized head and exaggerated facial features, sitting on a chair and playing the cello. He is attired in bright, mismatched clothing, including a yellow hat, a red and white striped and collared shirt, a yellow bowtie, a blue jacket with tails, yellow and red striped pants, blue socks, and yellow and black shoes. Includes vignettes of a boot and a shoe printed on verso., Title from stamp on verso., Purchase 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Varnum [P.9984.1]
- Title
- [Van Stan's Stratena and Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards for products produced by Van Stans Stratena Co. in Philadelphia. One racist card entitled, "Great lecture on Van Stan's Stratena by Julius Augustus Cesar at Ethiopian Hall," after the 1878 Sol Eytinge illustration "Blackville, 1878" depicts an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, lecturing on a stage in front of an audience of well-dressed African American men. The lecturer, attired in a brown jacket, a tan waistcoat, a white shirt with gold cuff links, a white bowtie, blue pants, and black shoes, leans on a wooden table labeled "Van Stan's Stratena." Rolls of paper stick out of his back pocket, and his upturned top hat is visible underneath the table. A decorative object advertising Stratena and a cup sit on the table. He speaks in the vernacular, "one drop of dis yere Stratena on de conscience of a politician will make him stick to his principles. One drop on de marriage certificate will prevent de divorce court from separating you from de wife of your bosom. Do you heah me! Gentlemen I am a talking." Other illustrations include a double-sided metamorphic trade card showing white women and children upset when their objects and toys are broken and happy after using Van Stans Stratena to repair them and, on the other side, two white men and a white woman cringing while taking a dose of cod liver oil, but smiling after taking Van Stan's Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil. Card shows two white boys' jackets glued together by Stratena after they sat in it. A white boy standing nearby laughs and says, "Ha! ha! ha! No use boys!!! Been sitting in Van Stan's Stratena. Ha! ha! Ha!!", Another series of illustrations entitled, "Marriage a-la-mode. Matter of money," "Marriage a-la-mode. The result," and "The marriage of the future," depicts a white man and woman couple being wed by a white man standing under a sign reading "License marriage fee. $1.00" and a dog standing behind the groom thinking, "I'll be dog-goned if this is anything more than a matter of cur-ency and my privileges are sure to be cur-tailed. Give him a bone." A subsequent scene shows the husband running away from his wife, two children and chaotic household. His wife runs after him with a frying pan as the toddler in the background cries, "Father dear father come home," and the baby, lying on the floor, cries "No one to love me." The final scene shows a wedding ceremony in the "Tabernacle hearts cemented" with the officiator standing before the bride and groom announcing, "with this Stratena I thee wed." The groom replies, "One consolation, if I ever break her heart, I can mend it with Van Stans Stratena." The bride counters, "I'll stick to him through thick and thin.", Title supplied by cataloger., Printers and engravers include Chas. Shields' Sons (New York) and E. Ketterlinus & Co. (Philadelphia)., Advertising text printed on versos promotes Van Stan's Emulsion of Pure Norwegian Cod-Liver Oil and Van Stan's Stratena cement to repair glass, china, marble, iron, bone, jewelry, jet, coral, leather, wood, earthenware, porcelain, ornaments, lamp shades, metals, Meerschaum pipes, billiard cues, and leather belting., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Van Stan's [1975.F.888-890 & 1975.F.892-894]
- Title
- Creditor of Johnsing & Skinner--"I'll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I'll lick de hul firm." Compliments of J. Harley Compton, druggist, New Egypt, N.J
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting the druggist J. Harley Compton and depicting a caricature of an older African American man reading a notice on a country grocery store. Shows the man with a white beard and attired in a yellow brimmed hat, a long-sleeved red shirt, yellow pants with patches and held up by suspenders, and black shoes. He bends forward to read the sign on the boarded up, dilapidated store. It states in the vernacular that the Johnsing & Skinner Grocery is out of business and that, “Dem as owes de firm, will settle wid me--dey de firm owes will settle wid Skinner. G.W. Johnsing." The African American man is labeled as a creditor who says in the vernacular, “I’ll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I’ll lick de hul firm.” Another sign on the building states, "10 miles to de post ofice (sic)." In the right, the man’s donkey is tied to an orange post behind him. In the background, fenced in fields and trees are visible. William Carroll purchased J. Harley Compton’s drugstore in New Egypt, New Jersey in 1895., Title from item., Text printed on recto: Johnsing & Skinner Grocery. Notis—De firm of Johnsing & Skinner am resolved. Dem as owes de firm, will settle wid me—dey de firm owes will settle wid Skinner. G.W. Johnsing. Creditor of Johnsing & Skinner—“I’ll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I’ll lick de hul firm.”, Advertising text printed on verso promotes items manufactured by J. Harley Compton, including Compton's concentrated flavoring extracts, liquid rennet, camphor ice with glycerine, cholera and dysentery drops, and Compton's tooth powder. Dated Oct. 9th, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1883]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - C [P.9828.5679]
- Title
- [Laird, Schober & Mitchell trade cards]
- Description
- Series of trade cards and caricatures promoting Laird, Schober & Mitchell and depicting clowns or harlequins. "I see nothing will suit but Laird, Schober & Mitchell's" depicts a white boy harlequin trying to fit a shoe on a seated white woman fairy with wings and a wand. "Too fine to Blacken!" is a racist trade card depicting a white boy clown kicking an African American shoe shine boy from behind. In the right, the white boy, attired white clown costume with a white cap decorated with a blue ball, a white shirt with ruffles at the neck and waist, white pants with a ruffle at the cuffs, white stockings, and blue shoes, carries a jump rope in both hands. He smiles at the viewer and kicks his left foot propelling the shoe shiner into the air. The shoe shiner is attired in a blue jacket with tails, white pants, black stockings, and brown shoes. His top hat, shoe shining stool, and open can of shoe polish fly away from him. "Oh! my!!..just look at them!!!" shows a white man admiring the shoes of a young, white woman who carries a butter churn. In the background are farm animals including a cow. "How beautifully they fit" depicts a white woman descending the stairs while grasping the hand of a white man, attired in a military uniform who carries a bouquet of flowers. Also a card depicting a white woman in a parlor holding up her skirt to reveal her new shoes, with the shoe box labeled, "Laird, Shober & Mitchell, Philadelphia" on the table. Laird, Schober & Mitchell's Shoes began operating in 1870 and was a partnership formed by Samuel S. Laird, George P. Schober and George A. Mitchell., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Four trade cards [1975.F.488-491] contain advertising text printed on versos: A request before purchasing shoes. Examine ours. Prices are now reduced and goods finest manufactured. Laird, Schober & Mitchell, 1133 Arch Street, Philad'a., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Laird [1975.F.488-491; 1975.F.506]
- Title
- [Partridge & Richardson trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards and caricatures for Artemus Partridge & Thomas D. Richardson's "bee hive" dress trimmings' store at 17, 19 & 21 North Eighth Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations include various series depicting flowers; men and women couples promenading; bust-length portraits of well-dressed women; children playing and fishing on the beach; frogs and cherubs seated on or near mushrooms holding umbrellas in the rain; and anthropomorphic rabbits jumping rope, one rabbit pulling another on a sleigh with a banner labeled "Rabbit Transit," the sleigh crashing through the ice, and two African American men, portrayed in racist caricature, trying to lure rabbits into a trap. Other imagery includes an anthropomorphic moon smiling down at a boy sitting on the limb of a bare tree with two cats singing from sheet music labeled "Clair de lune"; a portrait of a mother holding her infant; a female cherub picking flowers; a girl picking flowers; a fox standing under a grapevine trellis; three cats in a basket; a girl blindfolding a dog; and a boy fishing in a pond., Title supplied by cataloger., Four prints [1975.F.660-662 & 665] copyrighted 1881 by Chas. Moritz., Printers and engravers include Graf Brothers (Philadelphia), Sunshine Publishing Company (Philadelphia), Wemple & Kronheim (New York), and Craig, Finley & Co. (Philadelphia)., Four prints [1975.F.701-704] signed with the same trademark initials (C.A. or A.C.) and contain French titles, including "Zozor revenant du bain," "Lili pechant la crevette," "Nini prenant sa leçon de natation," and "Petit marin faisant une découverte"., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., Added to African Americana Digital Collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Partridge [various]
- Title
- [Geo. G. Burbank, druggist and apothecary, 235 Main St., Worcester, Mass.]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards depicting Japanese boys wearing fanciful, stylized versions of traditional attire and geta shoes and performing a variety of activities, including watching a fly pull toys on the ground, playing a stringed instrument as a dog dances on its hind legs, and holding a piece of paper of an illustration of a man and woman. Also includes "Ole zip coon," depicting a racist scene of an African American man stealing a chicken in the countryside. He hangs suspended on a wooden fence, snagged by the seat of his pants. He holds two squawking chickens by the legs in his right hand as another squawking chicken runs away in the left. The man is portrayed with exaggerated features and a look of fear. His mouth is open and the corners turned down. His wide eyes look to the right. In the background in the right, a white man, holding a rifle, runs with a dog towards the fence. A house is visible in the center background., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9828.5576] numbered 450 and printed by Bufford, Boston., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - B [P.9828.5573-5576]
- Title
- Waterbury Drug Store, established 1797. Leavenworth & Dikeman, Exchange Place, Waterbury, Conn
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards containing "Fishing" showing a white man and woman couple fishing in a rowboat with a pet dog that has its head in their picnic basket; "Caught on the fly" depicting a white man attached to the hook of his own fishing rod as he stands next to a stream; "We met by chance, or waiting for the swell" showing a white man floating on a wave in the ocean and colliding with a white woman as she stands in the ocean near other white women and children; "What are the wild waves saying sister?" depicting a boy, attired in overalls and a wide-brimmed hat, standing next to his sister, attired in a bonnet and long-sleeved dress, looking out at the ocean with their backs to the viewer; "Oh, come and see us" showing a group of white children standing in a pond jeering at an older, white man who stands on dry land in the foreground; and "Scoot, brother scoot!" depicting an African American boy and girl holding hands and scurrying from the approaching waves of the ocean. Leavenworth & Dikeman, the partnership between Elisha Leavenworth and Nathan Dikeman, operated in Waterbury, Connecticut between 1850-1890., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of advertised business., Four prints [P.9828.7033-7036] printed by Phoenix Card Co., N.Y., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - W [P.9828.7031-7036]
- Title
- B.M. Weld, drugs & medicines, also boots, shoes, slippers, etc. Bradford, Vermont
- Description
- Series of three illustrated trade cards promoting druggist B.M. Weld. Depicts a white child raising the American flag on a flag pole; a framed image of two men walking beside a house under the moonlight superimposed onto a spray of flowers; and an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white collared shirt, a green bowtie, and a blue jacket, who leans over the folded signboard containing the title, and dangles a red suit for a monkey, which sits in the lower right corner holding a red cap in its hand., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand, 2000., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1875]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - W [P.9828.7053-7055]
- Title
- Compliments of J.C. Williams & Son, Central Pharmacy, 50 South Salina St., Syracuse, N.Y
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards promoting pharmacist J.C. Williams & Son and including "Surrender" depicting a white man winking as he puts his arms around a white woman from behind. The woman, attired in a hat with red feathers, a red dress with a white collar, and black, fingerless gloves, puts her head down as the man grasps her chin with his left hand and puts his right hand on her shoulder. They stand behind a picket fence. Also includes "Retribution" showing a dog chasing a cat and knocking a startled African American man off of his feet near a fence in a yard. The man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white collared shirt with blue stripes and white pants with blue patches, flies into the air while his white hat falls to the ground., Title from item., Date from copyright statment on one print: Copyrighted 1882 by Onondaga Lith. Co., Syracuse, N.Y. [P.9828.7105]., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1882]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - W [P.9828.7105 & 7106]
- Title
- H. Jahke, wholesale & retail dealer in all descriptions of fresh & salt pork, hams, lard, tongues, &c. 130, 131, 132 & 133 Nineteenth St. market, residence, cor. Baring & Sloan Sts., West Phila
- Description
- Racist, trade card promoting butcher John Henry Jahke and depicting a caricature of an African American man on mule-drawn plow. Shows the African American man, attired in a hat and a blue, plaid jacket and pants, sitting on top of a plow. He holds the lever to the plow in his right hand and the reins to the mule pulling the plow in his left hand. The mule is kicking its back legs into the air because three pigs are running around it. Trees are visible in the background. John Henry Jahke (1835-1919) was a prominent butcher who owned a slaughtering and packing plant in West Philadelphia on Baring and Sloan Streets., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., Digitized., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Date
- [ca. 1875]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Jahke [P.9766]
- Title
- Smith Brothers chemically pure Borax
- Description
- Racist trade card advertising soap manufacturers the Smith Brothers and depicting the white woman head of house with three of her women housekeepers while they use Borax to complete various tasks in the kitchen. In the center, the mistress of the house, attired in a red dress with a white collar and cuffs, applies Borax onto a white cloth held by a white housekeeper. In the left, a white housekeeper sprinkles Borax over a group of cockroaches on the floor in front of the stove. In the right, the African American woman housekeeper, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots, a yellow dress with red stripes, white stockings, and tan shoes, stands before a wash basin with her hands in the soapy water. Behind her a clothesline full of white sheets hang. Brothers Frank and Julius Smith established Smith Brothers Borax in 1874. In 1888, Frank Smith incorporated his new company, Pacific Coast Borax., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso provides directions and various uses for Smith Brothers' Borax, including washing, starching, preventing moths, removing cockroaches, dressing ulcers, wounds, bruises, sprains, and chilblains, removing inflammation, bathing, arresting fermentation and cleaning clothes., Distributor's imprint print on verso: Githens & Rexsamer, 40 and 42 South Front Sts., Philadelphia., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Smith Brothers [1975.F.751]
- Title
- Photography under a cloud Perry is selling the nicest lot of fine combs, dressing combs, barber combs and misses circle combs, made from rubber, horn or celluloid; from 5 cts. to $1. Remember Perry's Drug Store, Canastota
- Description
- Racist trade card illustration depicting a group of barefooted African American men and boys, portrayed in caricature, looking on as a photographer takes a photograph of them. In the left, a boy, attired in a blue jacket, and a man, attired in an orange collared shirt and yellow pants, stand and look at the camera. In the center, a man, attired in a yellow shirt and pink pants, stands directly in front of the camera and peers into the lens. In the right, a boy, attired in an orange shirt and blue pants, crawls toward the scene on all fours. The photographer is crouched under a cloak. Visible in the background is a woman standing beside a cabin., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - P [P.9828.6598]
- Title
- Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
- Description
- Series of trade cards promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming copper kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item, Printers and engravers include Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Co. (New York) and A. Gast & Co. (New York and St. Louis)., Advertising text printed on verso: Advertising text printed on verso: Established 1827. Dixon's stove polish; over fifty years in the market. Neat; quick; brilliant, and lasting. No dust. No odor. Nothing will make a stove so bright and cheerful for so long a time as the Dixon stove polish. It is by far the cheapest in use, in the long run. Buy it. Try it. Take no other. Pressed into a neat quarter-pound packet, absolutely free of adulteration. Six millions sold in 1880. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1998., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Dixon [1975.F.235; P.9577.14; P.9599]
- Title
- [Domestic Sewing Machine Co. trade cards]
- Description
- Series of trade cards promoting the Domestic Sewing Machine Co. "Make no mistake you buy a domestic" depicts two white women, one tall and the other of short stature, who carry parasols and converse. "Wes don got de "domestic" we has!" depicts a racist, comic genre scene of an African American couple, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated features, who have acquired a sewing machine. In the center is a man and woman in a blue-colored cart being pulled by a galloping brown horse. The man, attired in a top hat; a blue jacket; a white collared shirt; and green checked pants, strains and leans forward as he holds the reins. The woman, attired in a yellow dress with black polka dots and a pink bonnet, leans back and exclaims in the vernacular that "wes don got the Domestic, we has!" She raises her left hand in the air and holds a white handkerchief. A sewing machine is visible inside the cart. In the far right a barefooted boy attired in a straw hat; a white collared shirt; and brown pants rolled up to his calves, possibly their displaced son, runs beside the wagon. In the top right corner is an inset illustration of a Domestic Sewing Machine Co.’s sewing machine. "Yes my father was a great antiquarian; where he studied antiquity" depicts a well-dressed, white man and woman couple standing on a veranda conversing. The next panel depicts an older white man carrying a sack on his back and picking through a barrel filled with straw and scrap metal with garbage strewn around on the ground. William S. Mack & Co. and N.S. Perkins founded the Domestic Sewing Machine Company in 1864 in Norwalk, Ohio. The White Sewing Machine Company bought the company in 1924., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.229] copyrighted by Frank B. Hine., Includes advertising text printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Gift of Helen Beitler, 2001 [P.9983.5]., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Domestic [1975.F.229 & 230; P.9983.5]
- Title
- The eureka poisoned fly-plate will kill every fly in the house
- Description
- Trade card promoting Eureka Fly Plate Co. and depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, observing the fly plate kill a swarm of flies. The man, attired in a white collared shirt, a red jacket, and blue pants, stands holding a broom, which he uses to sweep dead flies from the table in the left. On the table is the fly plate that fills with flies. Above the table is a window., Title from item., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Eureka [1975.F.294]
- Title
- [Eagle Starch Enamel Manufacturing Co., Frankford, Phila., Pa.]
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting Eagle Starch Enamel Manufacturing Co. and depicting three smiling African American children, portrayed in caricature. In the center, the toddler stands attired in a white dress with a large collar and blue sash, white stockings, and tan shoes. Flanking the toddler, the boy, attired white shirt with a large circular collar, a black jacket, black breeches, stockings, and shoes, and the girl, attired in a pink, brimmed hat, a yellow, long-sleeved dress with a pink sash, pink stockings, and white shoes, hold a wreath of leaves over the toddler’s head., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Contains advertising text printed on verso listing five reasons to use eagle satin gloss starch enamel., Purchase 1998., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Eagle [P.9577.16]
- Title
- [Hunter's handsome drug stores, cor. Pacific & New Jersey Aves., cor. Atlantic & Indiana Aves., Atlantic City, N.J. and cor. Fifteenth and Wharton Sts., Philadelphia]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards promoting Hunter's Drug Stores, and depicting white boys bowling, a large fish in a pond surrounded by flowers, and men and women laboring outside, including a white man and woman couple fetching water from a well, a white woman standing in a field carrying a staff, and a white woman watering flowers with smiling, human faces in a garden as a cupid figure with wings watches her from the other side of a fence. Two African American men, portrayed in racist caricature, haul large bundles of wheat past a milestone labeled "M. 10." In the left, the barefooted man is attired in a tunic, and in the right, the man is attired in a hat, a tunic, and shoes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9828.6173] contains advertising text printed on verso promoting the purity, quality and accuracy of Hunter's drugs and lists items available for sale at his drugstores., Date from copyright statement on six prints [P.9828.6175-6180]: Copyright 1882 by Ed. Wolf., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1882]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - H [P.9828.6173-6180]
- Title
- Is dese' your chickens miss Compliments of Durant & Oehlmann, druggists, 518 Hampshire St., Quincy, Ills
- Description
- Racist trade card depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a torn hat and shirt, on the ground with baby chicks in front of him. In the left, a white woman with a pitchfork leans over a fence to observe the scene and surprises him. Durant & Oehlmann, the partnership between Dr. Joseph F. Durant (b. 1831) and Charles Oehlmann (1849-1921), operated in Quincy, Illinois between 1875 and 1888., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso promotes Falke's Sulpholine Cream and Falke's Kah-Kan-Kee Hair Restorative manufactured by J. Falke & Co., 418 Elm St., St. Louis., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - D [P.9828.5810]
- Title
- [Armand Dalsemer trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards for Armand Dalsemer's "fine shoes" and "common sense shoes" at 136 North Eighth Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a grinning African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, standing in an open window holding a newspaper labeled "The American Citizen"; a cherub sitting on a lily pad in a lily pond; and a portrait of a little girl wearing a bonnet., Title supplied by cataloger., Printers and engravers include Sunshine Publishing Company (Philadelphia) and Leon Meyers, 29 S. Liberty St., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Dalsemer [1975.F.15; 1975.F.19; 1975.F.286]
- Title
- [Croft, Wilbur & Co. trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards promoting confectioners Croft, Wilbur & Co. and depicting children performing a variety of activities, including two white girls playing tug-of-war over a wrapped piece of candy; and boys and girls eating sweets, including a white boy eating a candy stick while holding his dog on a leash. Also shows flowers; a courting white boy and girl couple sitting on a log; two white boy clowns dancing, playing a drum, and strutting a homemade pitchfork; and a man in Colonial attire popping out of a large cracker or bon-bon and dumping candy to white woman who catches it in her skirt. Racist card depicting an African American boy, portrayed in caricature, and a white girl on a candy stick seesaw. In the left, shows the white girl attired in a large, white bonnet; a yellow dress with red polka dots; a blue and white checked smock; orange stockings; and brown shoes, sitting on a red and white striped candy stick. In the right, the barefooted African American boy, attired in an orange shirt and gray pants, sits on the other side of the candy see saw. The fulcrum is a piece of chocolate. Founded in Philadelphia in 1865 by Samuel Croft and Henry Oscar Wilbur, Croft, Wilbur & Co. divided into H.O. Wilbur & Sons and Croft and Allen in 1884., Title supplied by cataloger., Four prints printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Includes two prints [1975.F.120 and 1974.F.141] with advertising text printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Croft [1975.F.120; 1975.F.141; 1975.F.145; 1975.F.168; 1975.F.176; 1975.F.178; 1975.F.182a; 1975.F.196; 1975.F.210]
- Title
- He dreamt dat from away off thar de angels sent him news. He 'woke and found it was Dunbarr dat sent dem bully shoes; 60 N. Fourth St. Philadelphia
- Description
- Racist, satiric trade card depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt, pants with patches at the knee, and old shoes, sleeping with his back resting against a haystack in a field. A rifle is propped on the haystack beside him. An African American angel with wings flies toward the sleeping man with a pair of boots in his outstretched right hand. In the background is a scarecrow. Text printed on the recto describing the scene is written in the vernacular. Burns & Zeigler succeeded the firm of Geo. S. Clogg & Son in 1875., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business., Contains advertising text printed on verso: E. L. Burns. F. T. Zeigler. Burns & Zeigler, dealers in fashionable boots and shoes, No. 1109 Pennsylvania Avenue, betw. Eleventh and Twelfth Sts., Washington, D.C. F. Lisiewski & Co., prs., 639 Arch St., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Creator
- Donaldson Brothers (Firm)
- Date
- [ca. 1875]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Burns & Zeigler [1975.F.33]
- Title
- [J. & P. Coat's thread trade cards]
- Description
- Series of trade cards promoting J.&. P. Coats thread and depicting men, women and children performing a variety of activities with the thread, including a white girl swinging on a tree swing; a white man fishing in a stream while a white woman watches; and several white children pretending to be a horse team. Includes a large frog on a riverbank. "So do my sisters and my cousins and my aunts!" depicts an older white woman carrying packages. "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" based on Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" shows an oversized Gulliver being tied down with thread by the Lilliputians. "That's the kind! Bring me some more" depicts an older white woman inspecting different colored spools of thread in a box held up by a white boy. "Ef dis don't fetch you nothing will" depicts an African American man and woman, portrayed in racist caricature, trying to tame a donkey. In the left, the woman, attired in a white bonnet with a red ribbon, a red shirt, a blue scarf, a yellow shirt, a white apron, and gray shoes, uses thread from an enormous J. & P. Coats spool to pull on the bridle on the donkey, who pulls back with its mouth open. Behind the donkey, the man stands, attired in a brown, brimmed hat, a red shirt, blue plaid pants, and blue shoes, who holds a rope in his left hand and scratches his head with his left hand. "We never fade!" depicts an African American boy, portrayed in racist caricature, sitting on an oversized spool of thread in a field. Shows the boy seated and with his legs straddling a giant spool of black thread. He says “we never fade!!” and points his finger at the sun, which has a face and a concerned expression with a downward turned mouth. The boy is barefoot and attired in a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows; a multi-colored tie and belt; and red pants rolled up to the knees. In the foreground, two black crows look at the thread. A house is visible in the right background., Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Five prints printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Ten prints contain advertising text printed on versos, including promotions for J. & P. Coat's best six cord, soft finish spool cotton; a table of needle and thread numbers; a calendar for 1880; and a description of "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" illustration (on recto of print 1975.F.220)., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1999. Purchase 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Coats [1975.F.123; 1975.F.126; 1975.F.133; 1975.F.150; 1975.F.157; 1975.F.193; 1975.F.195; 1975.F.220; 69211.D; P.9743; P.9984.4]
- Title
- The celluloid corset clasps side & dress steels Warranted not to rust. Corsets after washing. With the old style clasps in. With the new celluloid clasps in
- Description
- Trade card advertising celluloid corset clasps and depicting racist caricatures of Chinese men laundry workers comparing celluloid and traditional corsets. In the center, the laundry worker, wearing a queue hairstyle with the braid sticking straight out to the right and attired in gold hoop earrings, a red tunic, white pants, and blue and white cloth, slip-on shoes, smiles as he holds up a clean, white corset with celluloid clasps. In the left, the laundry worker, wearing a mustache and queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and blue and white cloth, slip-on shoes, holds a soiled and dirty corset as he opens his mouth in dismay looking at the clean corset. In the right background, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a yellow tunic, blue pants, and white cloth, slip-on shoes, washes laundry with his hands in a steaming washtub. Also visible are a basket of laundry; a corset hanging on a line; and a table with an iron on top of it., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Contains advertising text printed on verso: Celluloid corset clasps. Side and dress steels. Perspiration proof. Elastic. Durable. In introducing these improved corset clasps, &c., let us call your attention to some of the points of their superiority over all others heretofore in use. 1st.--The inferior is finely tempered clock spring steel. 2d.--The exterior is celluloid. 3d.--The combination of the two unites the strength of the steel with the rust-proof qualities of the celluloid. 4th--The trouble of ripping out and sewing in the steels every time corsets are laundried becomes unnecessary as these steels need not be taken out for that purpose. 5th--They are warranted not to rust and thus stain the corsets or other garments. 6th--They are the best steels in every particular ever offered. Sold by all dry and fancy goods dealers throughout the country., RVCDC, Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Celluloid [1975.F.182]
- Title
- Atmore's mince meat and genuine English plum pudding
- Description
- Trade card promoting Atmore & Son’s mince meat and depicting a racist scene of an African American boy street peddler. He stands on a sidewalk and holds a disc-shaped pie in his hands in front of the door to a brick building. The rosy-cheeked boy smiles and looks at the viewer. He is barefoot and attired in a white, collared shirt with orange stripes; yellow suspenders; and blue pants with black stripes that are rolled up to below his knees. In the left, on the ground and behind the peddler, is a handled basket full of pies that is partially wrapped in a white cloth. In the right is a tree with green leaves. Atmore & Son, established in 1842, was located at 141 South Front Street, Philadelphia, Pa. They continued producing mince meat as late as 1948., Various printers printed series of trade cards in the 1870s for Atmore & Son before Ketterlinus, including Clay, Cosask & Co. of Buffalo (1870), Clay & Cosock (1876), and Thos. Hunter (1877)., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Atmore's [1975.F.14]
- Title
- Beauty on the street--front view E. B. Hall, druggist. Established 1852. Wellsville, N.Y
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting druggist E.B. Hall and depicting an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a brimmed hat with decorative feathers, an elegant, long-sleeved dress with ruffles, gloves, who carries a tiny purse. She walks down the street carrying a parasol in her right hand and her small dog's leash in the other. Edwin B. Hall opened his drug in Wellsville, N.Y. in 1852., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Purchase 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Hall [P.9984.3]
- Title
- I'se a dude!
- Description
- Trade card promoting New Jersey grocer H. G. Prall & Sons and depicting an African American man dandy, with a sheepish expression, and posed with his left hand to his lips and his other hand holding a white top hat at his shoulder. He is portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a ruffled white shirt, a white waistcoat adorned with a watch fob, a gold jacket with tails, and blue and white striped pants. He stands in front of a background of fauna details. H. G. Prall primarily appears as the sole proprietor of his grocery in later 19th-century directories, but is listed as H. G. Prall & Son in 1883., Title from item., Date inferred from city directory listing for business., Series no. printed on recto: 58., Advertising text printed on verso: H. G. Prall & Sons, Dealers in fine Groceries. Headquarters for Fish, Provisions, Flour, Feed, &c., 174 and 176 Main Street, Somerville, N. J., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1883]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Prall [113419.D]
- Title
- L. S. Plaut & Co., 715, 717, 719 Broad St., Newark, N. J
- Description
- Trade card for L. S. Plaut & Co.'s boys' clothing department depicting African American children, portrayed in racist caricature, sledding. Shows ten African American children, attired in short-sleeved pajamas, in a toboggan sledding down a snow-covered slope. One child plays a horn. The child at the back holds on with their leg outside the toboggan. White spectators watch from the side of the incline, and other toboggans are seen in the distance at the top of the slope. L. S. Plaut & Co., established as "The Bee Hive" in 1870 by Leopold Fox and L. Simon Plaut, was a premier department store in Newark, N.J. The firm tenanted 715-719 Broad Street by the 1880s., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1887 by The Bufford's Sons Lith. Co., Printed lower right corner: 794., Stamped on recto: Harvey Cooley., Advertising text on verso: The Largest in the State. The Bee Hive Boy's Clothing Department. See our values in Short Pant Suits, at $2.48, $3.48 and $4.98. See our values in Short Pants, at 49c., 62c., and 98c. See our values in Overcoats, at $2.23, $3.48, and $4.98. Men's Shoes, Fine-Make Goods, all at Very Low Prices. Text accompanied by illustration showing a white boy attired in a cap, overcoat, pants, and boots., Duplicate image of: trade cards - R [P.2011.42.1], RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- 1887
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Plaut [113418.D]
- Title
- The Universal clothes wringer
- Description
- Metamorphic trade card promoting the American Wringer Company's Universal Wringer. Depicts a racist "before and after" scene with and without the product. The before scene shows an African American laundress "Dinah" wringing clothes by hand over a tub. She states in vernacular speech that "de wringing am awful." A white woman chastises her to "look at these torn clothes." She holds up a square shaped cloth with tears. A clock is visible in the background. The women are shown as bust-length. Dinah wears a kerchief, an open collared shirt, and her sleeves are rolled up. The after scene shows a smiling "Dinah," wringing laundry with a "Universal" clothes wringer under the happy gaze of her employer. The women reach a hand out to one another. Dinah wears a high ruffled collar shirtwaist with a bow at her neck, long sleeves, an apron, and kerchief. A clock rests on a sideboard in the background. The American Wringer Company was established about 1861 and operated until at least the early 20th century. The company often provided a clock as a premium to purchase their laundry equipment., Title from item., Date inferred from attire of figures depicted., Text printed on recto: Oh mistis de wringing am awful, always tear de clothes 'spect dat I neber get through. What Dinah, six o'clock and not done yet! And look at these torn clothes. "What Dinah! Finished washing so soon! Why it's only three o'clock." "Hi golly! Mistis, been done dese two hours dis chile hab no more trouble, since you done got dis wringer. Neber tear de clothes neder., Advertising text on verso: The Universal Wringer Has the Following Points of Superiority. 1. Rolls of Solid White Rubber. 2. Rowell's Double Cog-wheels. 3. Two Independent Pressure Screws. 4. Double cogs at both ends of each Roll. 5. Folding Apron or Clothes Guide. 6. Rocking Springs of wood and rubber. N. P. Baker, Dealer in General Merchandise, Sunapee, N. H., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - American [113420.D]
- Title
- Your home is not complete without the Missouri Steam Washer. The best washing machine in the world. Johnston Bro's. St. Louis. Philadelphia There are more Missouri Steam Washers sold than all other washing machines in the world combined
- Description
- Trade card for the small portable washing machine invented by George D. Ferris and marketed by Johnston Bros., "General Agents for the United States." Depicts two male fairies, one white and one African American, presenting a "Missouri Steam Washer. Pat'd. May 1, 1883" to a white woman who stands over a washboard in a wash tub. Steam rises from the tub filled with clothes. The African American fairy, portrayed in racist caricature with orange wings and attired in blue pants with suspenders, pushes in the metal washing machine on a dolly, while the other fairy points to it. The African American fairy image was often used in newspaper advertisements for the machine that operated through placement on a family cook stove, internal perforated steam tubes, and a crank to keep the clothes in motion during washing., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1884., Contains five testimonials, including one by G. R. Brandt and Harry E. Brandt (Hurricane Laundry, 232 New Street), Philadelphia, Pa., printed on verso., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- 1884
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Johnston [P.2013.35.1]
- Title
- Brother Gardner addresses the Lime Kiln Club on the virtues of Dixon's Stove Polish
- Description
- Racist, satiric trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a caricature of an African American man presenting Dixon’s Stove Polish to the African American men members of the Lime Kiln Club. Shows Brother Gardner, the white-haired, African American man, in the left with spectacles on his forehead and attired in a white collared shirt with a red bowtie, an orange jacket with a sunflower on the lapel, red and white checked pants, and black shoes. He stands holding a blue box of Dixon’s in his left hand and a gavel in his right hand. In the left is a wooden table with a blue pitcher and a top hat on top of it and a sign that reads, “Dixon’s Carburet of Iron Stove Polish.” Brother Gardner addresses the men in the vernacular, who are identified by number with the key of their names on the verso of the card. In the right, the man, attired in a striped white collared shirt, a red tie, a white and blue striped jacket, yellow and red striped pants, and black shoes, sits on a wooden chair and examines a blue box of Dixon’s in his hands. Beside him another man, balding with tufts of white hair on the sides of his head and a white beard and attired in a red jacket and blue striped pants, kneels down and carries a brush in his right hand. Behind them two men sit on chairs and an additional nine men stand and listen to Brother Gardner. In the background, the wall reads, “Lime Kiln Club, Paradise Hall.” A horseshoe and framed prints that read “Beautify your homes” and “Rules of the Lime Kiln Club” hang on the wall. In the center is a large, black stove., The African American "Lime Kiln Club" caricatures originally were devised by Charles Bertrand Lewis (i.e., M. Quad) in the Detroit Free Press. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1886., Advertising text printed on verso: The Lime Kiln Club, Brother Gardner in the Chair. “Dis Club hab ebery reason to be proud of de Stove Committee. We has tried all de other stove polishes. We has been stunk out wid so-called peperahuns and seen de piping rust to pieces, till de stove-pipe wus a tumbled down disgrace to de good name of de Lime Kiln Club. De honah of dis occashun belongs to Brudder Shindig, who has made a name for hisself, by introducing Dixon’s Big cake of Stove Polish, and has covered hisself wid shine. Stand up, Brudder Shindig, and let us gaze upon your countenance. Now, my frens, let us draw a lesson from dis: Seek and find out for yerselves, and when you’s got a good ting stick to it, so dat, like DIXON’S STOVE POLISH, you may not only be a use to de community in which yer libes, but a shining example for de rest of mankind. “De club owes a vote of thanks to de Stove Committee, an’ to Brudder Shindig in particular, an’ extend de heartfelt thanks of de Lime Kiln Club to DIXONS for de valuable addition to de comfits of dis life through their CARBURET OF IRON STOVE POLISH. Wid one drawback, Brudder Shindig—you orer haf found dis outen befo’ for de DIXON’S STOVE POLISH has bin in de market SINCE 1827,--58 YEARS.” (Signed) No. 1. Bro. Gardner, 2. Old Man Jenkins, 3. Bro. Shindig, 4. Give-A-Dam Jones, 6. Sundown Davis, No. 7. Accordingly Davis, 8. Stepoff Johnson, 9. Trustee Pullback, 10. Sickles Smith, 11. Sir Isaac Walpole, 12. Layback Jones, Committee., Advertising text printed on verso: Fifty-eight years in market! The oldest, the best, the neatest, the quickest. Ask your dealer for Dixon's Stove Polish. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J. Illustration showing a box of "Dixon's Prepared Carburet of Iron (Trademark) For Polishing Stoves, Grates, Ranges, and Every Kind of Cast and Sheet Iron work.", Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- 1886
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *trade card - J [P.2012.54.2]
- Title
- Day's soap does it Washee, washee, see him rub on his washboard in the tub; see him wash and smile with glee for he's from hard labor free; with Day's soap his work is done when his rivals just begun
- Description
- Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyrighted 1887 by Day & Frick., Racist metamorphic trade card showing a caricaturized Chinese man laundry worker washing a sheet on a wash board in a washtub. Includes a tab that when pulled lifts the washer's arms up and down to reveal the text "Day Soap" on the wash board. The man wears his hair in a queue and is attired in a long-sleeved, blue collared shirt with buttons down the front, blue pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes. He smiles and looks to the right. The tub rests on a table beside a bar of soap, labeled “Day’s Soap.” On the ground behind the table is a basket of laundry. Sheets hang on a drying line. In the background, the wall has Chinese-stylized decorations including a gold wallpaper depicting birds and fish and a purple and gold wall hanging that reads, “Day’s Soap.” Peter Day founded the Day & Frick soap manufactory firm in 1886. He retired as president of the firm in 1917., Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, John D. Avil founded the Avil Printing Company (also known as John D. Avil & Co.) in West Philadelphia and managed it from the early 1860s until his death in 1918.
- Date
- [1887]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Day's [P.2012.62.8]
- Title
- U. S. B. M. Dockstaders. US BM black mail. Charles and Lewis Dockstader, Carncross' Minstrels, Eleventh St. Opera House, Philadelphia, Pa
- Description
- Racist advertisement designed as a postcard to promote Carncross' Minstrels performers the Dockstaders, and the A. Vogeler & Co. patent medicine St. Jacobs Oil. Includes graphic details and vignettes depicting caricatured African Americans in a cancellation mark, stamp, and as postal workers. The cancellation mark (upper left) depicts the right, bust profile of a black man, possibly an allusion to a man in black face. The stamp (upper right) depicts the left, bust profile of a black man, possibly an allusion to a man in black face. In the lower left corner, an African American mail carrier, a mail bag around his shoulder, empties a "U.S.B.M." mailbox attached to a post. His back is to the viewer. In the lower right, an African American mail carrier, a mail bag filled with mail around his shoulder, and holding letters in his hand is depicted in mid stride. The unrelated Charles Dockstader and Lewis, i.e., Lew Dockstader (George Alfred Clapp) partnered in 1878. They joined John L Carncross' Minstrels in Philadelphia in 1880. The Dockstaders continued to perform with Carncross' until 1883 and the illness of Charles ending the partnership. In 1882, the men also performed with George Thatcher's Minstrel's (Philadelphia)and Haverly's Minstrels (St. Louis, Mo.). Lew remained with Carncross until 1886 and the creation of Dockstader's Minstrels., Blackface minstrelsy is a popular entertainment form, originating in the United States in the mid-19th century and remaining in American life through the 20th century. The form is based around stereotypical and racist portrayals of African Americans, including mocking dialect, parodic lyrics, and the application of Black face paint; all designed to portray African Americans as othered subjects of humor and disrespect. Blackface was a dominant form for theatrical and musical performances for decades, both on stage and in private homes., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Printed on verso: Miss Information:-- Most worthy of estimation: After long and serious consideration on the reputation that you have in the nation. I have taken a serious inclination to remove my habitation, to a close situation, in order that I may pay a visitation for the sake of conversation. If this should meet with your approbation, I remain ever yours, without simulation. Ado Ration. P. S.---I thus give affirmation without qualifications that St. Jacobs Oil is the best application in the wide creation., Description of Blackface minstrelsy from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., Housed with the Ellen Phillips Advertising Card Collection., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program (Junto 2015)., RVCDC, Access points revised 2022., Description revised 2022.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Dockstader [P.2017.6]
- Title
- Clark's mile-end 60 spool cotton
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting a genre scene of an African American man and woman in conversation on a country road. The man and woman are portrayed with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular. Shows, in the left, the man standing on a dirt road and holding a piece of thread attached to a giant spool labeled "Clark's mile-end 60 spool thread." He is attired in black boots; yellow striped pants with patches on the knees and rolled to his calves; a white shirt; a red vest; and a green jacket. His straw hat is upturned on the ground beside him. In the right, an African American woman sits in a horse-drawn wagon holding the reins to a white horse. She tells the man, "Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything - lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with." She is attired in a yellow head kerchief and a red dress with yellow trim at the neck. The George A. Clark & Brother Company, manufactory of embroidery and sewing thread, was founded in 1863 in Newark, N.J. The firm was renamed Clark & Co. in 1879, and in the 1880s created a six-cord, soft finished thread called "Our New Thread" or "O.N.T." The business merged with J. & P. Coats in 1896, which lead to a series of mergers with fourteen other companies. Into the 21st century, the company continues to manufacture thread under the name Coats & Clark., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Text on recto: Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything- lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with., Advertising text printed on verso: Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is the best for hand and machine sewing. Clark's Mile-End Colors are made expressly to match the leading shades of dress goods, and are unsurpassed both in quality and color. Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is six-cord in all numbers to 100 inclusive., Stamp on the recto is illegible., See related copy: Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.33]., Gift of George Allen, 2022., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade cards - C - Clark's [P.2022.42.7]
- Title
- Use Merrick's thread. "Gully this cotton beats 'em all!"
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting Merrick thread and depicting a domestic scene of an older African American man sewing. Shows the man, in a cabin setting, seated atop a stool, his feet slightly turned in, and mending the seat of a pair of blue pants. The man holds the pants in his left hand and pulls a needle and thread through a patch on the pants in his right. The thread comes from a large spool beside the man which is marked with "Merrick Thread Co. Best Six Cord 8" logo. Behind the man is a window with a sill, which is lined with potted plants. A candle holder rests on a shelf attached to the wall below the window. The man is attired in a red button-down shirt, blue suspenders, brown pants, and brown shoes. Merrick Thread Co. was founded in 1865 by Timothy Merrick, Austin Merrick, and Origen Hall in Mansfield, Connecticut. After its founding, the company established mills in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1898, the company merged with thirteen other independent thread and yarn manufacturers to form the American Thread Company., Title from item., Date inferred from content and genre of print., Advertising text printed on verso: Buy Merrick Thread Co's best six cord soft finish spool cotton for machine & hand sewing warranted 200 yds. also these threads are made from the finest quality of combed sea island cotton, and for strength, evenness, elasticity and smoothness surpass anything in the market. By the use of the "ready wound bobbins" the annoyance of winding the iron bobbin is done away with, and a more perfect stitch obtained. When in want of more thread, don't fail to ask for Merrick's., See related copy: Goldman Trade Card Collection - Merrick [P.2017.95.122], Gift of George Allen, 2022., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade cards - M - Merrick [P.2022.42.10]
- Title
- Photographing the baby
- Description
- Trade card after an 1870 Sol Eytinge Harper's Weekly illustration with white figures depicting a racist, caricaturized genre scene to promote the coach varnish firm Clarence Brooks & Co. Scene shows a white photographer taking the portrait of an African American toddler in hi studio. The African American figures are portrayed with caricatured and exagerrated features. In the right, the white photographer stands next to his camera and tripod. He holds a cloth in his right hand, at his side, and a yellow-colored, monkey-like string puppet in his raised left hand. He wears a beard and is attired in a long brown jacket and blue striped pants. Between him and his young sitter is a framed advertisement above maroon paneling on an olive-colored wall. The advertisement reads: "Clarence Brooks & Co., Fine Coach Varnishes, Cor. West & West 12th Sts." In the left, the African American girl sits stiffly on a plush, green arm chair. Her eyes are opened wide in a surprised expression. She wears a sleeveless pink dress with blue bows at the shoulders. Behind her, in the doorway, are two African American women. The younger woman, likely to be perceived as the girl's mother, peers around from the left of the doorway. She wears a stylish hat, white blouse, and red bow at her neck. An older woman, likely to be perceived as the girl's grandmother, stands in the right of the doorway. She wears a brown-colored bonnet with a large bow around her chin and a brown-colored dress and shawl. Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In the early 1880s the firm issued calendars illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes, often after Sol Eytinge Harper's Weekly illustrations., Title from item., Publication date inferred from dates of activity of publisher (1888-1892) as cited in Jay Last, The Color Explosion (Santa Ana: Hillcrest Press, 2005)., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program (Junto 2015)., Housed with the Emily Phillips Advertising Card Collection., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- National Bank Note Co.
- Date
- [ca. 1890]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Brooks [P.2016.17.1]
- Title
- Arbuckle's ariosa coffee. Arbuckle Bros. Coffee Company, New York
- Description
- One of a series of "fifty" trade cards, "each one of which shows a correct map (properly bounded) of one State, or Territory" to promote Arbuckle's Ariosa Coffee. Depicts a map of Alabama (left) and a scene with African American men and women picking cotton in a cotton field (right). Scene shows a man in the foreground placing cotton in a basket piled high with it. In the center, right background, a woman stands and holds a large basket piled high with cotton on her head. In the distant background, two men and three women bend over and pick cotton from the plants. A piece of harvesting equipment is visible in the far left background. The men and women wear long sleeve shirts and hats or bonnets. Arbuckle's Coffee was founded by brothers John and Charles Arbuckle following the Civil War. The company was one of the first to sell roasted coffee and to place it in one pound packages. Arbuckle often included trade cards in the packages., Title from item., Image captions: Cotton Picking; Population 1,262,[ ]5; Area in Sq. Miles 52,250., Date inferred from content, dates of activity of lithographer, and reference to Washington which gained statehood in 1889 as a territory., Series number printed on verso: No. 67., Several lines of advertising text printed on verso explicating why Arbuckle's Ariosa Coffee "costs more and is worth more than other brands of coffee," including higher grade green coffee and the "glazing" process. Also includes a "Read This." section describing the series of cards as "interesting, instructive, and artistic," and their purpose as and "object lesson or both young and old." Section ends with the alphabetical list of 50 states and territories depicted. Washington, New Mexico, and Wyoming are listed as territories., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022., Some degradation to image.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Arbuckle's [P.2017.44]
- Title
- " Creme" oat meal toilet soap
- Description
- Incomplete series of trade cards, including duplicate and variant imagery with the same series number, to promote "Crème" toilet soap manufactured by J.D. Larkin & Co. Depicts racist, anthropomorphic chimpanzee figures in social situations and leisure and cultural activities., Series no. I (variant 1) depicts a man and woman as well-dressed anthropomorphized chimpanzees greeting each other. In the left, the man attired in a black top hat, blue jacket, and checkered yellow pants, nods his head to the left and holds up his walking stick. In the right, the woman, her back to the viewer, is attired in a yellow bonnet adorned with flowers and a ribbon, and a long-sleeved green dress with a pink belt at the waist and a bow at the bustle. She lifts up her skirt and exposes her slip. Series no. I (variant 2) depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man artist. He rests back on his chair, and holds a palette in one hand, and a paint brush in the other. He sits in front of an easel and canvas. He is attired in a green-colored smock shirt with collar and buttons, yellow pants, and brown laced shoes. His eyelids droop down and his mouth is slightly ajar., Series no. II depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man hunter. He stands in front of a section of tall grass and holds a clutch of birds in his left hand and a shot gun under his right arm. He is attired in a hunting cap, red jacket, tan pants, and black high boots. Leather straps are criss-crossed over his chest. Series no. III depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man fishing at a dock. The man hangs his legs over a pier and holds a pole into the water. A basket of fish lays beside him. He wears a wide-brimmed hat, a brown jacket with the collar turned up, and blue checkered pants. The backs of two other anglers are visible in the left background. Series no. IV (2 copies) depicts anthropomorphized chimpanzees as a man and woman couple on promenade. The woman, in the left, is attired in a yellow bonnet, a yellow, three-quarter length sleeved dress with ruffling down the front and ruching on the skirt, and white gloves. She holds a fan by her left cheek, looks to her left, and lifts up the skirt of her dress and shows the edge of her slip. To the right, the man smiles and looks over her shoulder. He is attired in a bowler, red jacket, and grey-striped pants and holds a walking stick up under his arm., Series no. VI depicts anthropomorphized chimpanzees as a man and woman couple getting married by a clergyman. The couple, their backs to the viewer, stand to the left of the clergyman attired in his ceremonial robes. The man wears a suit with a long jacket. The woman wears a white wedding dress with a veil adorned with floral ornaments. The dress is composed with ruched sleeves, and adorned with pink bows and ribbons. The figures all have solemn expressions. J.D. Larkin & Co. was founded in 1875. By 1881 the soap company included over 100 factory workers and sustained specialized departments for advertising and shipping, as well as solicited to door-to-door private residences in addition to shopkeepers. Trade cards with the company logo were included with each box of soap. By 1885 the firm only directly sold their products to residential customers and was known for their premiums. The company was sold in 1941 and continued as a mail-order business until 1962., Title from items., Date, publisher, and manufacturer (printer) from copyright statements on prints: Copyright J.D. Larkin & Co., Buffalo, N.Y. 1881 and Copyright Clay & Richmond, Buffalo, N.Y. 1881., Majority of prints (P.2020.3.1-4&7) distributed by J.D. Larkin & Co., P.2020.3.5&6 distributed by the People’s Manufacturing Co., Prints include the company logo “J.D. L. & Co., Buffalo, N.Y.” in two designs; one in cursive and the other as a monogram with a central block letter., Includes series numbers: I. (2 variant images); II.; III.; V. (2 copies, same image); and VI., Five of the prints contain variant advertising text on verso. All texts include statement: To Card Collectors.- There are six different designs in this set. We will mail the complete set to any address, on receipt of 3 c./three cent stamp., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Date
- 1881
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Larkin [P.2020.3.1-7]
- Title
- Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms
- Description
- Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese boy smoking a pipe and carrying a cane. Shows the boy, wearing a queue hairstyle with a pink bow tied at the end of his braid and attired in a colorfully patterned Chinese robe with oversized celluloid cuffs, collar, and hat, and red, slip-on, cloth shoes. He holds the smoking pipe to his lips with his left hand and carries a walking cane in his right hand., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, Gent’s furnishing and over-gaiters, 1032 Chestnut St., S.E. Cor. of 11th., Text printed on verso: Celluloid (Waterproof linen.) Collard, cuffs and shirt bosoms. The following will commend the use of these goods to all who study convenience, neatness and economy. The interior is fine linen. The exterior is Celluloid – the union of which combines the strength of Linen with the Waterproof qualities of Celluloid. The Trouble and expense of washing is saved. When soiled simply rub with soap and water (hot or cold) used freely with a stiff brush. They are perspiration proof and are invaluable to travelers, saving all care of laundrying. Advice. In wearing the turn-down Collar, always slip the Necktie under the roll. Do not attempt to straighten the fold. The goods will give better satisfaction if the Separable Sleeve Button and Collar Button is used. Twist a small rubber elastic or chamois washer around the post of Sleeve Button to prevent possible rattling of Button, To remove Yellow Stains, which may come from long wearing, use Sapolio, Soap or Saleratus water or Celluline, which latter is a new preparation for cleansing Celluloid. Goods for sale by all dealers., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.741]
- Title
- Celluloid cuffs, collars & bosoms, water & perspiration proof
- Description
- Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man at the beach watching a white man demonstrate the waterproof qualities of his celluloid cuffs, collar, and bosom or bib. In the center, the white man, wearing a mustache and attired in a red robe, red-and-yellow striped shorts, and white celluloid cuffs, collar, and bosom, stands in the ocean with water dripping down his clothes, showing that they are waterproof. In the right, a Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle, a red tunic, blue pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, carries two sacks of laundry and looks over at the man in the water. In the left, a white man, attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt, a red vest, yellow striped pants, and red shoes, sits on the sand holding an umbrella and wipes perspiration from his face with a handkerchief. In the background, a white man swims in the water and a boat is visible., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, 1032 Chestnut St., Phila., Text printed on verso: Waterproof linen, patented. Ladies’ and gent’s cuffs, collars and bosoms, made from celluloid. Waterproof, elastic, durable. These goods are far superior to any Linen Goods yet placed before the public, and in recommending them, we would call attention to some of their remarkable features, which will commend their use to all who study economy, neatness and beauty. 1sr. The interior is fine linen. 2d. The exterior is celluloid. 3d. The unison of above, combines the strength of linen with the waterproof qualities of celluloid, 4th. The expense of washing is saved. If the goods are soiled, simply cleanse with soap and water. 5th. The goods never wilt or fray on edges and are perspiration proof. The best preparation to effectually cleanse them is celluline. For sale by all gent’s furnishing and fancy goods houses throughout the country., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.745]
- Title
- Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms Economical, durable, handsome
- Description
- Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting racist caricatures of Chinese men laundry workers in shock when a white man holds up a box of celluloid collars and cuffs. In the left, a white man, attired in a black bowler hat, a white collared shirt, a red bowtie and waistcoat, a blue-and-white checked suit, and black shoes, stands holding and pointing his finger to a box labeled, “Wear Celluloid Cuff & Collars.” Four Chinese men laundry workers jump up in surprise on their tiptoes with their mouths open and grimacing and their queue braids flying straight up into the air. The men have long fingernails and are attired in gold hoop earrings, colorful clothes, including yellow, red, or green tunics, and yellow or blue short pants, and cloth, slip-on shoes. In the left, one laundry worker stands behind the white man with his hands in a steaming washtub. Also visible are two baskets full of laundry on the ground, a table with irons on top, and white sheets hanging on a line. The text, “The Last Invention” is printed on the bottom right., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, Gent’s furnishing and over-gaiters, 1032 Chestnut St., S.E. Cor. of 11th., Text printed on verso: Celluloid (Waterproof linen.) Collard, cuffs and shirt bosoms. The following will commend the use of these goods to all who study convenience, neatness and economy. The interior is fine linen. The exterior is Celluloid – the union of which combines the strength of Linen with the Waterproof qualities of Celluloid. The Trouble and expense of washing is saved. When soiled simply rub with soap and water (hot or cold) used freely with a stiff brush. They are perspiration proof and are invaluable to travelers, saving all care of laundrying. Advice. In wearing the turn-down Collar, always slip the Necktie under the roll. Do not attempt to straighten the fold. The goods will give better satisfaction if the Separable Sleeve Button and Collar Button is used. Twist a small rubber elastic or chamois washer around the post of Sleeve Button to prevent possible rattling of Button, To remove Yellow Stains, which may come from long wearing, use Sapolio, Soap or Saleratus water or Celluline, which latter is a new preparation for cleansing Celluloid. Goods for sale by all dealers., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.728]
- Title
- No more Chinese cheap labor. Celluloid cuffs, collars & bosoms
- Description
- Trade card containing an illustration depicting a racist scene with the figures of Uncle Sam and America, and a Chinese man laundry worker. In the left, the laundry worker, wearing his hair in a queue and attired in a long-sleeved, orange tunic; long, wide-legged, white pants; and orange slip-on, cloth shoes; sits on an over-turned wooden wash tub. His eyes are closed, and he holds his head down in his left hand. His left leg is crossed over his right, and his right hand is on his left ankle. To his left, the white woman figure of Columbia/America, looks down at the laundry worker and points up with her right hand. In her left hand, she holds up a shield with the pattern of the American flag and marked "Invention." She wears her dark hair pulled back to the nape of her neck and is attired in a gown with the pattern of the American flag, a red and blue cap adorned with a white star, and sandals. An open box of spilled starch lies between her feet and those of the laundry worker. Behind the laundry worker, is a laundry iron on a shelf, Chinese characters written on a wall, and Uncle Sam resting his arms on the ledge of an opening in the wall. Uncle Sam has red hair and a beard and is attired in a top hat, a blue jacket with a white star pattern, a red neck tie, and white shirt with the collar turned up. He looks at America. Above his head is the sign "Gon Up Chinese Laundry." Patented during the 1860s and 70s, separable celluloid collars, unlike separable paper collars, were waterproof and longer lasting, as well as fashionable and affordable. Following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the celluloid collar industry leveraged the racist legislation to promote the use of celluloid collars as patriotic and as a means to make Chinese launderers obsolete and to facilitate the end of Chinese immigration., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Includes advertising text printed on verso: A New Improvement-Patented. Waterproof Linen. Waterproof-Elastic-Durable. Ladies' & Gents' Cuffs Collars, [Bossa]ms, Made From Celluloid. In Introducing this new invention [italicized], we beg to call the attention of the public to some of the remarkable features of this "new departure," [italicized], which will commend the use of these goods to all who study economy, neatness, and beauty [italicized]. 1st. The Interior is Fine Linen. 2d. The Exterior is Celluloid. 3d. The Union of Above, Combines the Strength of Linen With The Waterproof Qualities of Celluloid. 4th. The Expense of Washing Is Saved. If The Goods Are Soiled Simply Wipe Them Off With Soap And Water. 5th. The Goods Never Wilt Or Fray On Edges. 6th. They Are Perspiration Proof. For Sale by All Gents' Furnishing & Fancy Goods Houses throughout the Country., Image caption: "Othello's occupation gone." The Hand Writing on the Wall., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1882]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Celluloid [P.2021.20.1]